It was the first day of the year and in an grand hall in the palace many teens were gathered, they all had different expressions on their faces; some of hope, others indifference, but despite their varying expressions everyone could not mask the excitement thrumming through their bodies, after all this is the moment they've all been waiting for since they could walk.
Today was the day of Awakening, on this day every teen of the age fifteen will be tested of their cultivation aptitude thus the reason for their excitement, after all with a good aptitude one could easily get a government job or even quickly rise up the ranks of nobility. However, right now everyone seemed to be casting furtive glances at the door as though expecting someone to wake in.
"Keep quiet it's the Crown Prince,"
Everyone looked up at him with awe and respect in their eyes.The Crown Prince was the most talented of all the King's children, since he was a little child he had outshone every other person. As he walked it seemed the ambience of the hall seemed to move with him, his long black hair rolled into place neatly on his head, accentuating his black pupils set deep on his pale face, his lip curved upward in a gentle smile as he walked forward.
Today however is going to be the day that people will find out the extent of his talent, In this Kingdom everyone is tested of their talent at the age of fifteen to determine their cultivation aptitude.
The eunuchs and the palace officials in charge of the testing greeted the Crown Prince. In their opinion it was completely unnecessary for the Crown Prince to test his aptitude because he had always been brilliant from a small child.
A round orb was brought out of an ancient chest and the elder in charge infused his essence into the orb, it shimmered with a milky glow before turning pitch black.
The Elder in charge, Elder Whitfield looked at every one then started his usual demoralizing speech.
... erm his noble speech ...
" Young ones, I welcome you this year's Awakening Day."
" To many of you today is just about testing your aptitude and you've forgotten about the true purpose of the day, infact a lot of you have forgotten that you may not Awaken."
The crowd of rowdy teens all kept quiet and their faces became somber before some of them put on a look of discontent.
Indeed, it was true that they may not all awaken but what was wrong with the old man, why did he have to ruin their mood by stating such an ominous thing.
Elder Whitfield looked at the teens in his front and ignored the look on their faces, it may seem cruel to say things like that, but it was for their own good.
" I know that you all have basic knowledge on what is going to happen during the test, but it is my duty to break it down to you all."
He pointed at the orb
" This is commonly known as the awakenening orb, it sends essense into your body and activates your latent physiques."
" The physique of each person can be geared to one element or nothing."
" Physiques are also divided into ranks and levels, these levels determine the level of control one will have over their element "
"The physiques are divided into 6 tiers; ; Pink, Yellow, Green, Red, Blue, and White."
"Now if you all will come forward in an ordely manner to begin your test."
Everyone seemed eager but did not want to be the first person to go forward.
... dang it do i have to call someone out by myself ...
"You there,yes you come out, do you want me to get you myself damn it."
the young man that was pointed to gritted his teeth and walked forward.
Whitfield looked at the kid and grinned, then quickly recognized his mistake and looked at the faces of the other kids, they all threw him disgusted looks.
turning to the kid whose name was Eric
" Relax and put your hands on the orb."
When Eric placed his hands on the orb, the orb shimmered and he felt a stream of energy enter his body, then the stream quickly moved through his and returned to the orb which then glowed with pale green colour.
Eric was was visibly excited and the others looked at him with envy.
After Eric's test the others became excited again and overcame their apprehension.
The test went well compared to previous years with over 75 five percent of the participants awakening one of the kids tested even had the rare Red aptitude.
Outside the hall it was noon, by this time only a few people had not tested their aptitude, the royal family and those of high nobility.
... .... .... ... ... ..... ..... ... ..... .... .... .... ..... .... ... ... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ... ..... ..... ... .... .....
Everyone held their breath as they looked at the young girl before them, her fame was no less than that of the crown prince amongst the people of the hall, infact some will argue that she was even popular than the crown prince due to the latter being restricted by royal customs and conducts in his actions.
.... what do you think lady Fiona of the Rothswoth family will score in her aptitude test ....
" Put your hands on the orb."
Whitfield told the young girl at his front, he glared at the kids in the hall
... why in the world were they mummuring, is the girl popular ...
The girl did as insructed and placed her hand on the orb. the orb glowed with a whitish colour.
The moment this happened the entire hall became silent.
The legendary white aptitude rank, even Elder whitfield a seasoned warroir and elderly person had only seen an aptitude of that rank once in all his years and that was the current king of the kingdom.
After the excitement died down Whitfield nodded at the girl and almost laughed out loud.
" Good, Good, Good."
" This old man has finally been blessed to witness the rebirth of the kingdom, Rothswoth is going to die of envy, i've got myself a good disciple from the punishment of losing a bet to him, this feels more like a reward he, he, he ."
He caught himself when he realised that he had been staring at Fiona with a weird and unseemingly gaze especially since he was way older than her.
" Next person please, dont't waste my time."
He had to act fast before any of those old foxes got hold of the information, and so for this reason he rushed through the tests and scowled at the kids that were wasting his time in front of the orb.
To be fair, the latter participants of the test had good aptitudes with several people getting Green and up to ten peolple getting Red aptitude and then the second prince getting the second highest for now with a Blue aptitude, but to the irrational old man, what was happening was like a little boy that had discovered a rare stick of candy and he must quickly take it and eat it before the other kids find it so as to avoid a brawl.
Right now every one had teested their aptitudes apart from the crown prince, throughout the entire test he kept a slight smile on his face, infact the only time his expression changed was when Fiona's aptitude came out as White.
Ashven stood up and walked straight to the orb under the expectant gazes of everyone infact even Elder Whitfield got his act together and straightened up when he saw the crown prince coming. Everyone respected him, not because of his position, but because of his personality; he could solve riddles and speak use idioms that clearly expresses what he wanted to pass across since he was three, despite his young age people have learned not to dismiss him, infact at the age of ten he was already sitting by his father in the throne room to discuss kindom matters and plan battlefield strategies, at first the ministers had been disatisfied with the kings decision, but the young crown prince had won them over by his invaluable contributions to their meetings.
At this moment however, Ashven walked to the front of the orb and turned back to face the crowd, he faced his mates and began his yearly motivational rambling
... erm sorry motivational speech ...
" Today is a pivotal moment in everyones life, whether they were awakened or remained dormant, whether your aptitude is high or low, toady's event is going to mark a beginning of a change, the way you are perceived by society and even by yourself will change, however,I want you all to be of good cheer because nobody is going to be left out regardless of their future status, we the people, the nation, and the soilders need all the support we can get.Iwill bring this years awakening ceremony to an end by my own awakening."
With this he turned to look at Elder Whitfield and smiled.
Whitfield rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth.
... damned smiling construct, the traitor gave me a hastily thrown together speech and refined his own speech to the letter ...
" Your Highness please place your hands on the orb."
Ashven nodded and placed his hand on the orb, however, in the next moment his body jerked backwards as though he had been electrocuted and flew backwards towards the crowd where his body dropped with a plop at the feet of lady Fiona with his lifeless eyes staring at her with shock and confusion.